The Stomping Ground: A Culinary Haven in Putnam, CT

If you love cheese, this is the place for you! If you love eclectic art, this is the place for you! If you love funky, creative cocktails served with enthusiasm and a sparky personality, this is most definitely the place for you. It's not often I give 5 stars, but, this place earned it from "hello"! The vibe is funky and cool and the artwork beyond amazing! Take a few minutes to explore and admire the pieces on the walls and hanging from the ceiling! Nice live blues music on a Tuesday? Are you kidding me? Finally someone knows music lovers go out during the week too! Our server (foolishly forgot her name) doubles as the bartender and was incredible to chat with. We started with drinks; I had the "Margster Mash" a margarita with muddled fruit, hubby had a local draft. Both were wonderful and went well with the Spinach Artichoke Dip we ordered for our appetizer. Served piping hot with blue corn tortilla chips. Delish! For entrées we each tried the specialty Mac N Cheese. Mine had Buffalo Chicken and hubby went with BBQ pulled pork. The nice thing was the ditalini pasta used. It made the cheese the star of the show instead of a typical elbow or even cavatapi! This chef knows cheese and how to blend them perfectly. The menu is small and yet full of choices! This is going to be one of our go to places from here on!

Grabbed lunch here in downtown Putnam. Salads and service were great! Very nice lunch portion sizes. The delicious cup of chili was very meaty with all of my fave toppings. I'll probably get the bowl next time.

There were so many amazing pieces of art! The live music was amazing. Had a very laid back yet fun vibe. Great drink selection and food was awesome. Service was excellent, super friendly staff.

Been there a few times for open mic night. People are all really nice. People who work there were wonderful and played the open mic and had a lot of fun. Great place.

The food was so fresh and delicious. The dressing in the Street Corn Wrap was amazing, and you can still taste every ingredient inside the huge portion. The macaroni side was spot on. I only wish it was a bigger portion. Very friendly attentive service, and the place had a really great vibe. The beer and drink selection was solid. Prices are reasonable for the size of the wraps. Will definitely return for the live music and happy energy of this spot.

Loved the vibe here. Live music but luckily I happened to be there for open Mic night so almost all original music being played. The gourmet grilled cheeses all sounded yummy I picked the Sinatra. I saw others ordering wings those looked fantastic I'll definitely try those next time. Good selection of ciders and beer. I love all the art and funky stuff hanging everywhere. Such a cool place!

The food was very, very greasy. My dish, which was flavorful, it was a Mac and cheese with bbq pork and I liked it. But very greasy. The pot pies weren’t really pot pies because there was no crust. It was all cheese, potatoes, and grease. In the photo you can see it’s completely drenched in oil. The grilled cheese was good though, but it’s odd that you can’t choose your own side to go with it. And the other sandwich was not very good.

The most delicious and creative food options I have seen at a restaurant/gotten in a while! Got a yummy grilled cheese, wrap, and salad. Portions were good, everything tasted fresh, and they clearly have a creative and passionate chef! I recommend the street corn salad :) Total was $55 after tax, which was frustrating as the prices weren’t on the menu online. I guess we could’ve asked, but did not expect any of these individual items to be $15+. All three were $15+. Also took ~ 15min longer than the estimate on the phone. I still wanted to give 5 stars, as the food was delicious and the inside looked really cool! This was midday on a Sunday and they had live music which was great. For a fun night out, this is the spot! Just expect it to be a bit expensive, and be weary if you are ordering to go.